Benefits of Sliding Glass Doors

Less space consuming. If space is an issue for you then this could be a solution. This is one of the reasons they tend to be used within offices. Shower doors also often utilise this advantage.

Appearance of spaciousness. Aside from the fact that they do consume less space when opening and closing, they can give a feel of spaciousness especially when they interface with the outdoors.

A nice view of outside. So if you have a beautiful landscape, having sliding glass doors will allow you to enjoy it from the inside of your house or office. For this reason they are often used for patios where the garden or backyard is in sight.

More lighting allowed inside. If your home tends to be dark or gloomy, having sliding glass doors can make a huge difference.

More fresh air is facilitated into your home. If better ventilation is one of your objectives, you might consider sliding glass doors, as they usually provide a bigger interface to the outdoors.

If you’re considering having sliding glass doors, you probably have some concerns, and if you don’t, then you should. Here are things you should think about.

Concerns about Sliding Glass Doors

Breakable. This is probably the most obvious one. It could be a security risk as potential intruders might see this as a vulnerable place to target. Also the fact that they are breakable means there is potential physical harm from the shattered glass. And if little children are in the vicinity, it becomes even more alarming.

How to Clean and Maintain? These doors must be maintained otherwise you may find that they don’t slide readily anymore. Depending on the type of sliding glass doors you have, you might have to constantly remove leaves and other debris from the sliding track. So how to properly maintain is an important consideration.

Privacy. Depending on where you place the doors, you might want to consider the potential of people spying on you. Just how good is the view on the inside from the outside? Assuming privacy is important to you, then you need to resolve how you will satisfy this need.

Insects. Since these doors tend to provide a bigger open area to the outside, and they will likely stay open longer than regular doors, there is the likelihood of insects such as mosquitos intruding your home or building.

Your pets. If you have a dog or a cat, and your sliding glass doors provide the main entrance or exit to your place, then you would want to know how to facilitate pet-doors.

Lack of insulation. If these doors don’t provide sufficient insulation, then your place might become less bearable in the winter and summer seasons.

Window Treatments. Choosing window treatments for sliding glass doors can be somewhat difficult because they are normally much bigger than regular windows, and they also serve as doors, so they require special attention.

All these concerns can be addressed readily to put your mind at ease. We will address them more at this site. But keep these in mind, so when you go shopping for sliding glass doors, you can raise these issues and ensure you are getting adequate service.

Related posts:

1. Hunter Douglas Window Treatments For Sliding Glass Doors
2. Alleviating Common Concerns about Sliding Glass Doors
3. Window Treatments For Sliding Glass Doors

1. Your doors will generally frame a greater area than your windows. What this means is that more material would be required for treating the doors than the windows. Also, it means that more sunlight would be allowed through the sliding glass doors, which you might want to be able to adjust for easily. Moreover, when it comes to privacy, there is more to cover up with sliding glass doors than there is for typical windows.

2. Care must be taken such that whatever one chooses, it does not impede the glass doors from sliding in their tracks.

3. The doors will not only be used to let in sunlight and fresh air, but will also serve as an entrance/exit for persons. Therefore, what you decide upon should allow for easy flow of traffic, if indeed you do anticipate traffic.

4. In addition to meeting the preceding considerations, your choice should still blend well with the rest of the room.

With the above concerns in mind, let us look at some of the options available.

1. Drapes. There are a variety of drape types to select from. You have all the colours to experiment with. You have some control in the thickness of the fabric used. You could also install two sets of drapes, one thin to allow sunlight, and a thicker one that would ensure your privacy. However, drapes tend to cover some of the doorway when drawn back fully. One must also consider where the drapes will extend when the wind decides to send them flying.

If your door extends long enough, you will probably need to utilise adjustable rods, and this can hinder the movement of the curtain rings over the uneven part that results where the rods connect. Depending on your personality type, this can be really irritating. In addition to that, if you need to use the adjustable rods, chances are that you will need a suporting bracket in the centre, which will deny you the option of moving the drapes entirely to one side.

2. Vertical Blinds. This is a very practical solution. It gives greater control over how much lighting to allow into the room. You can also adjust to combat the glare. And these days, verticals come in many different textures, colours and artwork. However, a lot of people think they lack class. This is probably a personal preference, so if you don’t have that view then no need to be deterred. Nevertheless, there are other considerations such as dealing with the obstruction when entering or exiting. Also when the wind blows, the clattering arising from the blinds colliding with each other can be annoying. You will likely find that you will have to push them all the way to the end of the frame when it is windy. One thing they have over the drapes, is that with them, it is a lot easier to access the sliding glass door.

3. Shades. Hang shades above each glass door. This is a very simple solution. If done this way, you can choose to keep the shade down on one door and up for another. In this way you can adjust the lighting, as well as your privacy. Products that you can choose from for shades, include Roman shades, Duettes and several more. You will probably find however that shades are not as flexible as the vertical blinds.

4. Hunter Douglas Vertiglide. These blinds are meant to give a more refined and modern look to your place than the more common or traditional vertical blinds. They have the added benefit of good insulation which would mean savings on cooling and heating costs. They also reduce noise transmission from the outside. They are probably one of the best solutions. However, you still have to factor in the rest of your room to ensure that it all works.

The above are by no means the only sliding glass doors window treatment solutions available. More will probably eventually be highlighted in other entries. So check out your options, consider your costs and objectives, and you should be able to make an informed decision of what to go with.

If you have other window treatments suggestions for sliding glass doors, please do post them in the comments.

Related posts:

1. Hunter Douglas Window Treatments For Sliding Glass Doors
2. About Sliding Glass Doors
3. Alleviating Common Concerns about Sliding Glass Doors

I would suggest you go over the basic concerns one usually has in getting sliding glass doors. As you shop, see that each of your concerns are addressed.

So, if you are concerned with the glass shattering, then you might want to get double pane glass. If you’re concerned with insulation, then explore low-e glazed glass. If you have pets to consider, then ask the sales-person about getting a patio panel pet door. Basically, educate yourself on what you should be concerned with, and shop with the aim to alleviate them.

Aside from what was covered in the entry about alleviating your concerns, there are a couple other factors that should have your attention as you do your shopping.

One is the frame. What kind of frame should you get? This would depend on how much money you can afford to spend, and also probably whether you live in a part of the world which experiences winter, or very cold weather. If you have the money to spend, you might consider gettng a solid wood frame. If not, you have the option of getting an aluminum frame that has a wood covering. This is called a wood clad frame. It gives the look and feel of the true wood frame, but is much cheaper. In case you have cold weather to consider, then you might want to get what is called a thermobrake aluminum frame. This will prevent the formation of frost on the interior of the aluminum panel.

The second factor is the type of lock to get. Sliding glass doors usually come with a single point lock. This is some kind of latch that hooks into the door frame. However there is a security risk with this. For what a lot of people do not realise, is that even when the doors are locked with this mechanism, it is possible to actually lift the doors themselves out of the frame. Therefore, for better security, try to get a double point lock which hooks into both the top and bottom of the door frame.

Hopefully addressing these considerations will make your shopping experience an easier and better one.

Related posts:

1. Maintaining The Sliding Glass Door Lock
2. Replacing Sliding Glass Doors
3. Sliding Glass Door Security Techniques